3 ways Seahawks can convince Russell Wilson to stick around in 2022

The Seattle Seahawks may be at the end of the Russell Wilson era. The team is 5-10 with two games remaining in the NFL season for what will be his first-ever losing season.

That has the rumor mill churning about Wilson demanding a trade. Yet the quarterback has not come out and made such a demand. Publicly, he continues to say he would love to stay in Seattle.

That leaves the door open for a return, but things are going to have to change. Here are three things the Seahawks can do to make Wilson happy and keep him around in 2022 and beyond.

3 ways the Seahawks can make Russell Wilson happy

Seattle Seahawks v Los Angeles Rams

#3 - Spend big on the offensive line

Wilson takes way too many sacks. That is why he was upset heading into the season, and unfortunately, not much has changed. In fact, not much has changed since his rookie year.

Wilson took 33 sacks as a rookie. That number looks minuscule considering he took, at least, 40 every year from 2013-2020. He led the league with 48 in 2019 and took 47 more last season. The total is up to 31 this year in only 12 games.

The Seahawks have to figure this out. That either means spending big on the line in free agency or using a top pick on a top lineman prospect. Wilson can't be expected to return without more protection. Not only does it hurt the team's chances of winning, but it hurts his long-term health as well.

New Orleans Saints v Seattle Seahawks

#2 - Give Russell Wilson an extension

Wilson has two years remaining on his deal after this season. One way to make him happy is to hand him a lucrative new extension. Of course, this could cut into the available funds to add to the offensive line.

But paying Wilson in line with other top quarterbacks, thus well over $30 million per year, could be enough to keep him around for the remainder of his career.

Handing out such a new contract, also, lets Wilson know the team is committed to building around him for years to come.

San Francisco 49ers v Seattle Seahawks

#1 - Fire Pete Carroll

This may be seen as the most drastic of the suggestions. But the Seahawks have been stale for years with Pete Carroll. Everything was rosy and great when the team won the Super Bowl in Wilson's second season.

But then came the infamous loss at the goal line a year later, and the Seahawks have not been back to the Super Bowl since. The Legion of Boom broke up, and somehow, Carroll has weathered the storm to run the football operations in Seattle.

It may come down to keeping either Wilson or Carroll. The Seahawks know they need a top quarterback to win in the NFL, and that could mean they side with the signal-caller over the coach who may still be coasting on his Super Bowl victory from nearly a decade ago.

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